| Final 17:40 | time | autom. | L | Y | | 1. Majorie Jackson |  Australia | 23.7s | 23.89s | 2 | 20 | | 2. Bertha Brouwer |  Netherlands | 24.2s | 24.25s | 3 | 21 | | 3. Nadeznda Khnykina |  Soviet Union | 24.2s | 24.37s | 6 | 19 | | 4. Winsome Cripps | Australia | 24.2s | 24.40s | 5 | 21 | | 5. Helga Klein |  Germany | 24.6s | 24.72s | 7 | 20 | | 6. Daphne Hasenjager |  South Africa | 24.6s | 24.72s | 4 | 23 |
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| | Venue: Helsingin Olympiastadion 70,000. 38 competitors from 21 nations. 4-metre victory. |
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| World Record: Stanislawa Walasiewicz, Poland 23.6s 1935. Olympic Record: Francina Blankers-Koen, Netherlands 24.4s 1948. Season Best: Francina Blankers-Koen, Netherlands 23.7s - DNS. | Semi-Finals - Saturday 26.07 15:00 | | First 3 from each Semi advanced to Final. |
| Semi 1 | time | | 1. Marjorie Jackson | Australia | 23.4s WR | | 2. Bertha Brouwer | Netherlands | 24.3s | | 3. Daphne Hasenjager | South Africa | 24.4s | | 4. Sylvia Cheeseman |  Great Britain | 24.7s | | 5. Evgenija Setshenova | Soviet Union | 25.2s | | 6. Luella Law |  Canada | 25.3s | | 7. Ursula Knab | Germany | 25.5s |
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| Semi 2 | time | | 1. Nadezda Khnykina | Soviet Union | 24.1s | | 2. Winsome Cripps | Australia | 24.3s | | 3. Helga Klein | Germany | 24.4s | | 4. Catherine Hardy |  United States | 24.7s | | 5. Eleanor Mckenzie | Canada | 25.1s | | 6. Eulalia Szwajkowska |  Poland | 25.2s | | 7. Marcelle Gabarrus |  France | 25.3s |
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After 23.7 in June, Blankers-Koen was favoured to beat Brouwer
(23.9) and Jackson (24.3y), but the reigning champion withdrew ill,
leaving the way open for Jackson.
The Australian was brilliant, equalling the world record in her heat
with 23.6 (23.74), some 10m ahead of the opposition. She bettered this
in the semis with 23.4 (23.59), with a margin of more than 0.8 over
Brouwer. Lane 1 was not used for the final, so Jackson’s inside draw
was not as penalising as a curb lane would normally be. Jackson blis-
tered the curve and was 5m clear at halfway. The field managed to
close slightly in the closing stages but the Australian won in dominant
fashion.
| Heat 1 | time | | 1. Sylvia Cheeseman | Great Britain | 24.9s | | 2. Ursula Knab | Germany | 25.0s | | 3. Tzvetana Berkovska |  Bulgaria | 25.2s | | 4. Gladys Erbetta |  Argentina | 25.6s | | 5. Flora Kazantseva | Soviet Union | 25.7s | | 6. Maria Arndt | Poland | 25.9s |
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| Heat 2 | time | | 1. Nadezda Khnykina | Soviet Union | 24.3s OR | | 2. Helga Klein | Germany | 24.6s | | 3. Deise Jurdelina de Castro |  Brazil | 25.0s | | 4. Frances O'Halloran | Canada | 25.2s | | 5. Grietje De Jongh | Netherlands | 25.2s | | 6. Ema Konrad |  Romania | 25.8s |
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| Heat 3 | time | | 1. Marjorie Jackson | Australia | 23.6s WR | | 2. Catherine Hardy | United States | 24.8s | | 3. Patricia Devine | Great Britain | 25.1s | | 4. Anne-Marie Lousteau | France | 25.5s | | 5. Olga Gyarmati |  Hungary | 25.5s | | 6. Vera Martelli |  Italy | 26.1s | | 7. Mary D'Souza |  India | 26.3s |
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| Heat 4 | time | | 1. Bertha Brouwer | Netherlands | 24.6s | | 2. Marcelle Gaparrus | France | 25.3s | | 3. Ann Johnson | Great Britain | 25.3s | | 4. Adriana Millard |  Chile | 25.4s | | 5. Graviola Ewing |  Guatemala | 26.9s |
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| Heat 5 | time | | 1. Eulalia Szwajkowska | Poland | 25.5s | | 2. Eleanor Mckenzie | Canada | 25.5s | | 3. Alexandrina Sicoe | Romania | 25.6s | | 4. Lilian Heinz | Argentina | 25.8s | | 5. Pirkko Länsivuori |  Finland | 27.5s | | -. Dolores Dwyer | United States | DNF |
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| Heat 6 | time | | 1. Daphne Hasenjager | South Africa | 24.4s | | 2. Winsome Cripps | Australia | 24.4s | | 3. Mae Faggs | United States | 24.5s | | 4. Hyacinth Walters |  Jamaica | 25.4s |
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| Heat 7 | time | | 1. Evgenija Setshenova | Soviet Union | 25.4s | | 2. Luella Law | Canada | 25.7s | | 3. Klara Soós | Hungary | 25.8s | | 4. Genowefa Minicka | Poland | 25.9s |
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